What’s New with CatalystEX

Stratasys has recently released CatalystEX 4.5 workstation software for the uPrint and Dimension printer lines. On the surface, it may not appear all that different. However, the upgrades Stratasys has put in make it a lot easier to keep your system up-to-date and improve print quality.

The following is a summary of the key features and enhancements since the release of Catalyst 4.4.

CatalystEX is now installed along with support to display thumbnail images of STL files that have the .STL extension. This includes Windows Explorer window view icons and a larger rendering in the Preview pane when enabled.

CatalystEX will also be installed with support for CMB (Chromeleon Backup Archive) files that have the .CMB extension. The CMB details are presented by Windows Explorer in a variety of ways, including the Details view, the Details pane, the right mouse click properties window, and the tooltip displayed when the mouse pointer hovers over CMB files in Windows Explorer.

Stratasys Update Manager

This utility is automatically installed with CatalystEX 4.5 and will make updating system software (backend) easy enough for end users to perform worry and error free. The Update Manager can be launched from the Windows Start Menu under Stratasys. Additionally, it will launch automatically when new software is available for your machine.

It supports the following systems:

– Dimension Elite

– Dimension 1200es (BST/SST)

– uPrint

– uPrint Plus

– uPrint SE

– uPrint SE Plus

Simply put the machine into “Upgrade mode” through the maintenance menu and click the “Update” button in the Stratasys Update Manager software.

CMB Viewer

Improvements to CMB Viewer application:

– Support dragging/dropping CMB files to open them in CMB Viewer.

– A render indicator now shows the start of each toolpath.

Printer Status Tab

Pack lists will show in the printer queue and the printer history now lists all parts for nested packs.

STL Processing

CatalystEX 4.5 includes improved toolpath and support generation functionality geared towards part quality. Most of these enhancements will help stabilize and strengthen support structures while improving surface finish.

Other installation notes:

– If your network security prohibits downloads or upgrades such as this, the upgrade may fail. In this situation, please contact us for further assistance.

– After CatalystEX 4.5 is installed, any older version can be safely uninstalled. If the previous version is older than 4.4 you may want to review additional release notes. Please contact us if you would like more information.